Worlds Keep Turning
by siyentista
Summary: Sakura found comfort in the notion that every human being was but a drop in the ocean. If taking one away didn't make a difference in the greater scheme of things, it made losses that much more bearable. Unfortunately, the comfort of irrelevance, whether her own or that of others, was too easy to forget whenever she thought of Naruto.


**Worlds Keep Turning **

_"I'm sorry. Tsunade-sama said she did what she could, but at this point…."_

_"I see. How long do I have?"_

_"I think you should start getting your affairs in order."_

* * *

Sakura sat at the edge of the bed, gaze and mind distant. For the last fifteen minutes, she had been watching as wispy clouds chased after each other. The coordinated movements of the cottony constructs made it seem like the entire sky was moving, and by extension, the entire world was spinning, all while she was rooted to that same spot at the edge of the bed.

In her youth, the thought of the world spinning without her made her feel small and frighteningly insignificant. With the wisdom of age, she began to find comfort in the notion that every human being was but a drop in the ocean or a grain of sand on a beach. If taking one away didn't make a difference in the greater scheme of things, it made people's burdens that much lighter, and it made their losses that much more bearable.

But the comfort of irrelevance, her own or that of others, was too easy to forget whenever she thought of Naruto. After all, he was everything to her—hero, protector, friend, constant companion, and more. She knew, with a pang in her heart, that it would be so very difficult to lose him; her chest burned and ached just at the thought of it. Glancing at the callused fingers entwined with hers, somehow, she just knew that Naruto's world would also stop turning without her.

Sakura smiled gently when she turned to the slumbering form curled up beside her on the hospital bed. Even with the marks left by the wrinkled linen on his whiskered cheek, even with his sunny blond hair in wild disarray, or perhaps because of it, anyone would agree that Naruto had grown handsome. More importantly, the boy who had frozen at his first real battle had grown so powerful and brave, and yet… and yet to her eyes he also looked so small and vulnerable. With the tear stains on his face—for he could never hide what he felt from her—he looked nothing like the Hero of Konoha everyone deemed him to be.

At the thought of Naruto's anguish, and for the fifth time that day, the pinkette began to break down. Her stomach lurched painfully and her eyes began to tear up, but she held the contents of her stomach down and bravely rubbed her eyes dry. She needed to be strong for Naruto, odd as it was that the protector had become the protected.

When she heard a groan and felt Naruto's fingers tighten around her hand, the young woman realized that she was trembling and that her shaking hand had woken her companion.

"Are you okay?" Naruto questioned blearily, absently wiping his drool with the back of his hand.

"Yes, of course," she smiled believably. But the illusion of wellness shattered when Sakura gagged violently, feeling her stomach lurch once again. This time, the fluid—for she hadn't actually eaten anything substantial in days—couldn't be stopped and it rushed and dribbled into a sunny yellow bucket.

As a medic, she really should have realized it, but the bucket was too cheerily colored for its morbid and disgusting purpose. As a medic, she really should have realized what was happening to her body as well—indeed, should have been able to heal it herself—but she supposed wars tended to be distracting and neither she nor her master were gods.

The moment she pitched forward, Naruto was right beside her, patting her back to soothe her as she gasped for breath and for that tiny bit of strength that would keep her sitting on the edge of her bed. "I wish you wouldn't lie to me," the blond frowned worriedly.

"I'm fine, really. The harsh treatment makes it look bad, but I told you, it's nothing too bad," she dismissed as casually as she could.

When the man wrapped a protective arm around Sakura, the weakened woman lifted her arms to return the gesture and to indulge herself in his warmth, but at the very last minute, she retracted her limbs and turned away.

"Sorry!" Naruto yelped in alarm, half-expecting her to whack him on the head for what could have been perceived as an advance. "I didn't mean to-"

"Listen to me, Naruto," Sakura spoke softly but firmly. "We're good friends—best friends, even. But…" she swallowed thickly.

"But?" Naruto's heart seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"That's all we can ever be; I hope you understand. I want you to be happy, but I don't think I'm meant to be the one to make you happy. I… Well… You know who my heart belongs to anyway."

"I… but…" Naruto fumbled.

"Please," Sakura pleaded, before she tilted her head and forced her parched and chapped lips to curl into small smile. "For me—for your best friend—try to find your happiness elsewhere."

Naruto remained quiet for once, visions of Sakura and Sasuke dancing in his head, so Sakura rambled on. "Promise me that when I get better, I'll get to meet your new girlfriend to make sure she deserves _all that_," she said with a slight teasing tone in her voice while she gestured to his strong, sculpted figure from head to toe.

Naruto seemed not to hear the roundabout complement, then he cracked a smile, a tiny one, obviously forced. Sakura could tell he wanted to argue, but he'd been trained with much negative reinforcement not to cross Tsunade's temperamental apprentice and he also seemed hesitant to defy someone so ill. "Listen, it's getting late and I think I need to go," he trailed off in a small, strangled voice. "I'll see you again tomorrow." There was a pause. "Okay?" His azure eyes shined, pleading and hopeful.

"Well, it's not like I'm going anywhere," Sakura muttered under her breath, and at the small annoyed remark that reminded him of a more spirited, less beaten down Sakura, Naruto finally allowed himself a genuine smile.

* * *

When Naruto left, Sakura went back to staring out the window, arms clutching her belly, yellow bucket ready at her side. It hadn't happened. Not yet. But it was only a matter of time before she succeeded in her mission to help Naruto move on completely, like the clouds she stalked as they vanished into the horizon—damn Shikamaru's influence. Now she just had to remind herself that the handsome idiot was a drop in the ocean, a grain of sand on the beach. When his time came—not too soon, she hoped—the world would keep turning without him. And for the few months Sakura still had to live, she prayed that she could likewise keep her world turning without him.


End file.
